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EAA and the Post 2015 Agenda

2013 will be a key year for influencing the global development agenda following the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as well as for assessing progress towards these 2015 targets. There will be many ways that faith communities can engage and help shape these conversations. In this regard, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) is committed to sharing its members’ experiences of, expertise in, and vision for tackling AIDS and hunger.

A. Overview of high-level post-MDG processes

The ‘end point’ for post-2015 deliberations in 2013 is the United Nations (UN) General Assembly meeting in September, during which there will a one-day Special Session to review progress on the MDGs and map out a forward-looking agenda. Although it is important to remember that this meeting will not be the end of the post-2015 discussions, it is also vital that the outcome of this meeting sets out the best plan possible for a new, ambitious and comprehensive framework for arriving at global and national development goals that will supersede the MDGs.

In order to prepare for the General Assembly meeting, the UN Secretary General has appointed a High-Level Panel to advise him. President Yudhoyono of Indonesia, President Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Prime Minister Cameron of the United Kingdom are co-chairs of this 27-member panel, made up of civil society, private sector and government leaders.

Most notably, the High-Level Panel will release a report in May 2013 to inform the General Assembly deliberations in September. During the first half of 2013, there are multiple consultation processes ongoing for feeding into this report, as well as face-to-face meetings of the Panel, including a final meeting in Indonesia in March.

B. How you can be involved in the discussions

Thematic consultations are taking place – mostly online - on the following nine themes: Inequalities; Governance; Health; Growth and Employment; Education; Environmental Sustainability; Food Security and Nutrition; Conflict and Fragility; Population Dynamics; Water; and Energy. The EAA is focusing primarily on the Food Security and Health consultations:

EAA fed into a December 2012 e-consultation through the Beyond 2015 position paper and through its own submission. EAA also attended an informal consultation with the stakeholders of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in February 2013 and took the lead in compiling civil society talking points used at the consultation. Peter Prove, EAA Executive Director, was also the only NGO representative invited to facilitate group discussions at the consultation. The consultation will culminate in a high-level meeting (by invitation only) in Madrid in early April 2013.

The EAA submitted a written response to the call for papers in December 2012, as well as contributing to the drafting of the Beyond 2015 paper. The EAA’s written response was summarized in a Daily Digest on the Health consultation website along with that of other faith-based organizations, including EAA members Tearfund and World Vision. Read responses to the draft summary report of the Health Consultation, including a further EAA submission. The Health Consultation will wrap-up in a high-level meeting in Botswana on 5-6 March.

National consultations in at least 56 countries will be held to that national stakeholders can exchange inputs and ideas for a shared global vision of the post-2015 agenda. Why not contact your country’s focal point and see how you can engage in this process, and also being advocating now for the inclusion of faith-based representatives on national delegations attending the high-level meeting in September?

Reach out to the High-Level Panel directly As the High-Level Panel meets and works on the draft report that it will present to the UN Secretary General, a key way to influence the report will be to reach out to the panellists individually. If there is a panellist from your country, why not request a meeting with him or her, and organize for a group of faith-based organizations and/or religious leaders, as well as wider civil society, to attend?

The Panel also has its own consultation process. You can currently respond to the draft report of its own online consultation conducted in January 2013 here